Activist Kevin Powell to Speak at Black Heritage Banquet

The Baylor University Association of Black Students (ABS) will host the 23rd annual Black Heritage Banquet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, on the fifth floor of the Cashion Academic Center in Baylor's Hankamer School of Business.

Kevin Powell--activist, writer, public speaker and entrepreneur--will be the keynote speaker.

Powell is a 2008 Democratic candidate for Congress in New York. He has published 10 books, including his new title, Open Letters to America. This book is a collection of essays that examines American leadership, politics and various social issues in the era of President Barack Obama. Powell has hosted and produced programming for HBO and BET. He wrote and hosted MTV documentary, "Straight from the Hood", about youth life in Los Angeles after the 1992 riots.

Powell was a participant in the student-led anti-apartheid movement, the drive to end racism in South Africa. Powell is one of the most prominent voices in the hip-hop generation and has organized a number of rallies and forums stressing the use of hip-hop as a tool for social change.

Tickets for the banquet cost $10 for Baylor students, $20 for non-Baylor students and $5 for ABS members. Tickets may be purchased through the Baylor ticket office at (254) 710-3210. The ticket price includes dinner and the program, but guests are welcome to come at 7:30 p.m. to hear the speech only.

The Cashion Academic Building is in Hankamer School of Business located at the corner of 4th Street and Speight Avenue.